Gabrielle Delacour
by ikarukanina
Summary: Formerly under the title of 'Say it Loud', Gabrielle Delacour has found that life is not what she expected. Set during HBP, incredibly AU, Draco M.Gabrielle D. One of few stories with this pairing on here so far.
1. The Train

Hogwarts castle had never been more menacing looking the day that young little Gabrielle Delacour arrived. The dark and heavy rain clouds that had been circling the land all day now hovered over the towers with the occasional angry rumble of thunder to be heard. These cast shadows on the fortress, reminding the French witch of the castle she had visited earlier that summer with Fleur and Bill, the Tower of London. It had once been a prison to many, somewhat like a school that she had no say in the matter of attending.

June fifteenth seemed ages ago now that September first had rolled around. It had been the day that Gabrielle had returned home from Beauxbatons to find Fleur, her older sister, scrubbing at a dark stain in the usually impeccably white carpet.

"Fleur?" Gabrielle had asked, forgetting about how she had stood at the train station for an hour before giving up and taking the Muggle subway home. Fleur hadn't been at the house since she had stormed out a year ago to England against her parent's wishes.

Fleur hadn't looked up from her work until her own hands were bleeding, and both girls were crying.

Gabrielle later found out that her parents had mysteriously disappeared, leaving broken glass, splintered wood and blood stains to hint as to what had happened. There was no sign of forced entry, but a sign of a struggle was there. Days later they had been reported missing, and had soon fallen off of the Ministry's radar after one failed attempt at finding her parents.

After spending the summer at Fleur's small apartment, her older sister decided it would be better for her not to return to France, since there were people who would have heard what had happened. But in England and in Hogwarts, she was just a lost fifteen year old French girl most people would look past.

* * *

"Gabrielle, you need to get changed. I can see the castle already," Ginny Weasley's soft voice pulled her from her dark thoughts. The red-head had taken it upon herself to take care of Gabrielle, who was in her year. Ginny had her own uniform on, and so did the boy next to her, whom Gabrielle remembered to have been called Michael or something of the sort.

"Thank you," Gabrielle replied simply before standing up and taking her parcel of clothes to the bathroom to change. Sliding the compartment door shut, she heard Michael asking Ginny questions in whispers. So they were talking about her. It didn't bother her much, but she did dislike the pitying looks she got every time somebody found out what had happened.

In the bathroom, Gabrielle splashed water on her face as soon as she looked in the mirror. Dark blue melancholy eyes, a small pink mouth and heart shaped face with chubby cheeks looked back at her. A small ski-jump nose with a few golden freckles on it was in the center of her face, a small drop of water sliding down it in a slow and annoying way.

She had always looked young for her age, and at thirteen had easily been confused with an eight year old. It was the downside of the Veela blood in her, since Veela's always matured slower than humans and looked younger for longer.

Gabrielle, after Fleur had sent a letter requesting a meeting with Albus Dumbledore in August, had already seen the school and had been sorted privately in to Slytherin. Gabrielle hadn't known that Ginny, Harry and the rest of them weren't in Slytherin and had certain distaste for her house until she had been informed that morning. Now she dreaded school life even more.

Slipping on her uniform and patting her hair in to place, Gabrielle walked out of the bathroom and straight in to rather large and plump young man. He didn't seem fazed, but Gabrielle had been knocked down on to the floor at his feet.

"Excuse me," Gabrielle heard him say in a soft voice that contrasted his doughy physic. "I believe you are in my way." He stared down at her, his long arms crossing in amusement at her expense. He smirked when he noticed the green of her robes identifying her as one of his house, but he made no move to help her up.

Instead of making some witty retort concerning his voice, Gabrielle simply stood up and fixed her clothes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know English people were so rude." Gabrielle replied in impeccable English, thanks to a spell Ginny had found that enabled her to perfect her languages. She started to walk past him, but was stopped when he grabbed her small arm forcefully, and turned her around.

"You don't need to run off just yet. We've only just met and I don't have your name. I'm Vincent Crabbe." His grip on her arm loosened considerably just before another Slytherin boy appeared at their side.

"Crabbe, I told you to get food from the cart lady, not to harass new students." The boy who had come to her rescue was blonde and almost as tall as his companion, which meant both of them towered over Gabrielle's small five foot three frame. "Go find Goyle and get Pansy to share the chocolate frogs she bought. Tell her I sent you." Crabbe let go at once and stalked off, not looking back. The blonde boy flashed Gabrielle a smile, warming his grey eyes, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm Draco Malfoy. A girl like you shouldn't be walking around alone, unless you feel like getting mauled by someone like Crabbe."

Gabrielle frowned at him, despite her better instincts. The Prefect badge on his robes flashed brightly in to her eyes, but even then she couldn't contain her sarcasm.

"Do you charm lot of girls with that line, Draco?" She asked before walking off and to her surprise Draco followed with a smirk.

"It's mostly my boyish good looks, but occasionally it does do the trick." He answered back, placing his hands in his pockets as he strode next to her. "Now, I think I should at least know your name, since I did save you."

"What makes you think I needed saving? I could have taken care of myself."

"No girl I have ever met has ever liked Crabbe. Not even as a friend. Your name?"

"Gabrielle Delacour." She said, surprising herself. They had nearly reached the compartment with Ginny inside it and she could already feel the train slowing down. Only two more down and she would be there, safe inside without having anybody harassing her. But for some reason, she didn't mind when the blonde boy did it.

"Gabrielle is a big name for someone as small as you," Draco noted, before he saw her scowl and put her hand on the handle of her compartment. "I mean, you need a nickname." He back pedaled nervously, but didn't look away. "You're not a Gabby, I can tell that. You are more of a ... Brielle."

"Brielle? What kind of crap name is that?" She asked, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ginny move, a frown on the redhead's face and a look of disbelief on Michael's.

"It's different. I don't know a Brielle yet, but I do know a Gabby and you aren't like her." He quickly put a finger under her chin and brought her face up, just as the train stopped. Then he dropped his arm and turned away.

"See you around, Brielle." He walked off and a dark haired girl wrapped her arms around his stomach, scowling at Gabrielle.

Ginny appeared at her side, with both her and Gabrielle's trunks. "What did _he_ want?" She asked, her frown still on her face.

"I have absolutely no clue."


	2. The Letter

Settling in to Hogwarts had been easier than Gabrielle had thought. Nobody really seemed to care where she came from or who she was; other than the few who had been at Hogwarts to see the disaster that had been the Tri-Wizard Tournament and who wanted to know what had become of her perfectionist older sister. Gabrielle had to lie, saying that her sister was as happy as ever and enjoying life as the wife of Bill Weasley. Why would she tell any of them that Fleur had become a shadow of her former self, quitting her job and sleeping for days at a time if she was left alone? Bill didn't have the heart to make his wife do anything, and Gabrielle had found it extremely depressing even living in that dreary apartment. _Aren't newlyweds supposed to be happy?_ She had wanted to scream one day. _Aren't they supposed to do things together and be in love?_

The common room for Slytherin was much darker than the common room she had inhabited in Beauxbatons. There it had been warm, with cozy arm chairs and rugs on the walls. In here, it was always damp, and the lack of windows encouraged mold to start growing on the stone walls. Gabrielle had tried ignoring the mold, but it still disgusted her. Why had she gotten stuck in a place like this? From what Ginny had described, Hogwarts was supposed to be warm and wonderful. Was Ginny just lying to her to make her feel good, or did she need to be taken to the optometrist?

Gabrielle sat in an uncomfortable chair as she proof-read her essay for Potions class. She had worked harder on it than she had ever worked on any other essay, mostly because she hadn't found anyone to talk to and hang around with. She had seen Draco a couple of times since the train ride over, but she knew he hadn't seen her. Gabrielle had made sure of it.

"Draught of Peace?" A voice next to her ear asked incredulously. "Is that why you haven't heard me calling you?" Speak of the devil. As Gabrielle turned to face Draco, the tips of her ears pink, he straightened up and looked down at her with his arms crossed. "Brielle, you're very deaf. You might want to consider getting your ears looked at."

"Thanks, Malfoy, I'll keep that joke in mind the next time I decide to act like a prat. What do you want? I'm quite busy."

"I was going to tell you that you have a letter from home, but now that you've hurt my feelings, I think I'll keep the Owl." He held up an envelope with Fleur's writing on the outside, her own name in curly letters. Gabrielle's eyes grew wide, and then narrowed, as she pulled out her wand to use it on Draco.

"Give it to me now. You shouldn't be joking with stuff like that." Gabrielle said in a deadly low voice, pointing the piece of polished wood at Draco's neck, rather than at the pale hand that held the letter.

"Oh, really now? I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. You wouldn't want to use magic on a prefect and risk detention, would you?" He was still smirking, but his eyes darted around the room to make sure that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were now watching the exchange between the two.

Gabrielle's wand wavered, and she put it away. With a deep sigh, she looked up and decided to risk it. "Okay, you have me. What do you want in exchange?" If he hadn't had mentioned detention, she would have gone after him and hexed him in to the New Year, but she had heard from Ginny that her head of house favored Draco and it wasn't wise to cross either of them.

"I want you to be my slave and do whatever I want you to do for a week." He said without any hesitation, or blink of an eye. He must have had that in mind for quite some time.

"Really? That's super idiotic."

"And cliché. But you really aren't in a position to bargain, are you?"

"No." Gabrielle admitted sadly.

"Good. Be ready tomorrow by seven. It's going to be a long week." Draco dropped the letter, and walked out the common room door to do his prefect duties. Everyone else who had been watching returned to what they had been doing before and Gabrielle picked up the letter and opened it up to read two words.

_I'm pregnant_

Fuck a moose.

Authors note: Ag. Sorry for the whole delay thing. I forgot about the story, and then I got some reviews and things.. Yeah. But now it's vacation so I'll have time to update. : Next time, you should expect more characters, and some really annoying Draco behavior. Bleeh. I'm cold, and I do love reviews...


	3. The Morning

Gabrielle still hadn't written a reply to Fleur's Owl the next morning. What should she say? She knew Fleur wasn't ready for a baby. She was too young, and just barely married. On top of that, Fleur also had to take care of Gabrielle during the summer. Gabrielle had thought about sending her an overly excited letter, but couldn't think of anything that could even remotely sound sincere. And on top of that, she now had to do whatever Draco told her to do. It was beyond unoriginal.

Rubbing her eyes, Gabrielle rolled out of bed while the rest of the girls snored peacefully and got ready for the day with her normal morning routine. With one last smoothing of her Slytherin skirt and straightening of her tie, Gabrielle was ready for whatever he decided to make her do. She walked down the winding staircase, and found a note on the wall addressed to her.

_Now, this is strange._ Gabrielle thought to herself as she took the note in her hands and read it.

_Brielle:_

_Today I'll need you to:_

_Bring breakfast to my room, and wake me up. Walk me to and from my classes and carry my books. I'll tell you the rest while I get ready._

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, and went off to the Great Hall, and grabbed a couple of waffles for him, and brought them back to the dorms to many people's amusement. Gabrielle kicked open Draco's prefect room with a satisfying thud, and glowered down at his sleeping form. Setting the waffles on the ground amidst dirty clothes and school books, Gabrielle walked over to what was probably the one window in the dungeons and pulled open the curtains.

"Mommy..?" Draco muttered as he started to open his eyes, and the last of his sleep disappeared.

"Not quite." Gabrielle said with a frown as she leaned against the window with a satisfied smile. "But close enough."

"Oh, it's just you. I didn't really think you'd actually do it." Draco said with a shrug as he found the waffles and began to cut them in to squares and feed himself. He rubbed his eyes and pointed to the dresser across from his bed with his knife. "Pull out my uniform."

"You don't ask for much, do you? Do you want the moon next?" Despite the comment, she found herself shifting through the clothes in the drawers to get the slacks, sweater vest, tie and cloak, and then tossed the garments on the bed. "Couldn't you just hire a maid?"

"Most girls would die to even be in here." Draco said in a matter of fact voice as he dropped the used plate on the ground and grabbed the clothes and started undressing.

"Ag!" Gabrielle made a noise and closed her eyes as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Could you warn me next time you get naked in front of me? I am extremely sensitive. You've probably scarred me for life right there."

"You know you like it." Draco said, then became quite for a few minutes. "Open your eyes, already. Grab those books right here and meet me down in the common room in five minutes. We have to meet up with Pansy before first hour."

Gabrielle decided not to answer, and busied herself to get ready for whatever followed.

* * *

"Draco!" Pansy Parkingson squealed as soon as she saw Draco crossing across the courtyard over to her. Her giggles and smiles dimmed considerably when she saw Gabrielle following him with his books, Gabrielle was happy to notice. Draco muttered something under his breath that Gabrielle hadn't been able to catch but sounded something like '_Jesus_'. She had to agree. Pansy's shriek had a way of making you want to rip your ears off. 

"He-y, Pansy. Miss me?" Draco seemed casual, though Gabrielle saw how he rolled his eyes as Pansy clutched on to his arm as she were afraid he was going to disappear as soon as she took her manicured claws off of him. Gabrielle stood there awkwardly, wondering if this would be over soon. She couldn't help but be annoyed. Didn't he know what she could be doing instead of standing here like an idiot holding his stuff? She could find Ginny and Luna, or maybe even check her homework for the thousandth time.

"Of course. Did you miss me?" Pansy asked with her eyes bright and questioning as she asked this question, but Draco's attention had already wandered. It was actually a bit sickening. Draco didn't care about Pansy, and it made Gabrielle feel sorry for her.

"..Sure. Listen, Snape told me he'd let me off easy on homework for awhile if I showed Gabrielle around, so I'll talk to you later." Draco gently took Pansy's grip off his arm, and backed away slowly; maybe he was afraid Pansy might explode at him and grow violent.

Pansy's face screwed up in a million different ways and turned ten shades of red before she pulled herself in to a smile that looked like a grimace. "Well, isn't she sweet?" Something in her eyes told Gabrielle that Pansy didn't really think she was sweet. If anything, Pansy would have killed Gabrielle on the spot if she had the chance. "Alright, I'll talk to you _tonight_."

"You're great." Draco said before turning his back, and jerking his head to have Gabrielle follow him.

"Why'd you lie to her? She nearly popped a vessel, and will probably murder me in my sleep or slip me poison or-" Gabrielle let her mind wander, and would have said more if Draco hadn't stuck his elbow out for Gabrielle to grab on to. "You've got to be kidding me. I won't do it."

"You will, because you owe me." Gabrielle rolled her eyes, but grabbed on anyways and Draco continued. "I did it because Pansy needs to be reminded that we aren't going out, and that she doesn't own me. And I like the way that half the male population here is glaring at me."

"Really? Because of your incredible good looks?" Gabrielle asked with a raised eyebrow with a small laugh.

"Well, mostly. But I'd be lying if I didn't say you helped." Draco smirked, and then laughed when Gabrielle kicked him in the shin. "You are going to pay for that later, you know."

"Gabrielle!" A voice called from behind the two before Gabrielle could reply, or notice how close she had gotten to Draco. She would have let go of Draco, but his other hand kept hers in place. Turning her head, Gabrielle saw Ginny and Ron Weasley's red hair coming towards them.

"Malfoy," Ron sneered as he looked at the Slytherin boy, narrowing his eyes. Ginny's hand hovered near the pocket where her wand stayed, but she kept her eyes on Gabrielle.

"How are you adjusting to Hogwarts life?" Ginny asked slowly, choosing her words carefully.

"I'm doing fine, actually. Very great. Draco here was just showing me around." Gabrielle said with a smile. "How are you guys?" She didn't mention anything about Fleur being pregnant, in case they hadn't heard yet or Fleur had chosen Gabrielle to be the first to know.

"Fine, fine. Can we talk to you for a second?" Ginny asked, her brown eyes flickering to Draco with a forced smile. "Why don't you go on ahead, Malfoy? I'll get Gabrielle to her first class if she needs help."

"No, I think I'll wait,"

"Fine." Ginny grabbed Gabrielle and pulled her a few feet away with Ron to where Draco couldn't overhear. "Do you know who he is?"

"Yeah. He's Draco Malfoy. Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Jesus, Gabrielle. He's the worst person you could ever be seen with. He's a selfish little, snot nosed, jerk wad, brat. He called Hermione a… mudblood when we were in second year. I don't think he's changed for the better since." Ron growled. "He's more worried about himself than anyone in the world."

Gabrielle glanced over at Draco over her shoulder, and then ran her fingers through her wavy blond hair. "Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I think I can look out for myself." Looking at their faces, which were angry, Gabrielle quickly backpedaled. "But I promise if anything goes wrong, I'll come and find you two." Then she walked back to Draco, leaving the siblings in stunned silence.

"Let's get to class." Draco said quietly, holding out his arm again and this time Gabrielle took it without protest.

"Yeah. Let's."

**Author's Note: Wow. Two chapters in one day? Dang. Hah. I'll try to put more up. Am I rushing the story? I feel like I am..**


	4. The Library

The next few days bunched together, since taking care of whatever Draco said was much easier than expected; and whenever Gabrielle ended up having a class with Ginny, Ginny didn't bother looking at her, much less acknowledge that Gabrielle existed other than a cool 'hello' before floating away to her own desk. Gabrielle felt angry, not at herself, but at Ginny. Why should she be able to tell Gabrielle who to associate with? Didn't Ginny trust Gabrielle's own judgment? And those thoughts made her want to go up and give Ginny a good slap, but she kept her temper under control. It was obviously just the Veela in her acting up and in a few days it would subside. Hopefully.

Gabrielle had sent Fleur a small letter with false happiness. How could her older sister take care of a baby _and_ herself when Fleur could barely get out of bed most days? This thought plagued her for many hours. Would Charlie be there to make sure Fleur ate right, and got some exercise? What if Fleur's pregnancy had some complications? She had never been wide in the hips, sort of like a small child, and her mother had always complained about how difficult a pregnancy she had had with both of her daughters.

Oh! Her mother. She couldn't think about that, not now. No, she would think about that later down the road. Not about the blood soaked carpet or the way her mother had used to scratch her back when she laid awake at night, worried, or the way her father smelt of comfortingly of tobacco and smoke-

"You're Gabrielle Delacour, right?" A voice broke Gabrielle out of her thoughts. She had entered the library earlier that day when she had a free period, planning to get the week's homework out of the way so that she could concentrate on- well, nothing really. She had decided not to go to Hogsmead this first weekend anyways. Gabrielle had just longed to have the peace of mind that came with having accomplished her work load for the week. It had always been so rewarding back at Beauxbatons.

Looking up at the intruder, Gabrielle's eyes met with the dark green ones of a girl she had seen in the Slytherin common room. She had no need to ask for a name in return. Astoria Greengrass, the younger sister of Daphne, was also in Gabrielle's year and in her own Divination class. Astoria's strawberry blond hair had been caught in a sleek ponytail decorated with a simple green ribbon. "Yes, that's me. Why do you ask?" Gabrielle said with a frown, wondering why the girl would chose to talk to her now, several weeks after the start of school. Gabrielle had always seen her with her sister's friends, since the girls were just barely a year apart, but the older girls had never quite liked Astoria as much as Daphne.

"No reason. I was just wondering why you were still in one piece. Usually when another girl gets close to Draco, Pansy tears them apart in the first day," Astoria took a seat across from Gabrielle, and dropped a book she had been carrying under her arm. _Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them _thudded painfully on the table, and Astoria winced. "I cannot believe that giant half-breed would make us read a book like this. It should be against the law. The book is even bigger than his head." The girl smiled at Gabrielle and decided to continue with her horror tale about Pansy's behavior. "I suppose she's saving something special for you though. I think you're more than enough competition for her, and to tell you the truth, she seems a bit scared. It's not true that they kicked you out of Beauxbatons because you were having sex with all the boys, is it?"

Gabrielle chocked on her spit at how direct Astoria was. At least she came out and said it and didn't beat around the bush. "Excuse me? Of course not! Just because Pansy has no life and decided to take it out on me..." Gabrielle winced. She sounded so pathetic in her own ears. At least Astoria didn't seem to care about Beauxbatons. She was probably just trying to find out the truth to the rumors so that she could have something to gossip about later on.

"H'm, I thought not. Pansy needs to think up of a better rumor. Though it would explain why Draco is hanging around you so much.." Astoria said and looked sideways to make sure no one was listening before continuing on. "I do mean what I said about you being competition for her, you know. Draco's never really liked her and I would like to say that he sort of shows off like I've never seen him show off before when you are around. I think it's great that somebody in this house isn't a bitch for once." Astoria's voice had dropped to a whisper, and Gabrielle had to lean forward to hear her.

"Um. Thanks, I guess, but you're wrong about Draco. He doesn't like me any more than he likes any other girl. I think he just likes that I'm new.."

"Wrong. You _know _you're lying."

"No, I'm pretty sure Draco doesn't-"

"Draco doesn't what?" Draco's hand rested on Gabrielle's shoulder, who's cheeks turned pink. This wasn't helping her case at all.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought you had class right now..?" Gabrielle asked meekly, avoiding his gaze.

"Ever heard of cutting? I needed a break. I wasn't feeling well enough to hear about Saint Potter's wonderful potions one more time. Hullo, Astoria." Draco's eyes shifted quickly to the other girl before he turned his attention back to Gabrielle. "Let's go to the common rooms. Pince'll give me detention if she catches me. She's always hated me.."

"Draco." Astoria greeted. "See you around Gabrielle." Her smirk that had been present since Draco's appearance grew more when Draco grabbed Gabrielle's hand to pull her up out of her chair and didn't let go.

"Bye." Gabrielle said with a sigh as she managed to pick up her book with one hand and let Draco drag her hurriedly out of the library and to the entrance to the dungeons. "I know I've only been here for a few weeks, but I'm pretty sure Madam Pince wouldn't really turn you in if you said you had been sent down there for independent study. I'd be more afraid of that nasty Filch getting us. So what's the hurry?"

Draco, even though his eyes were strangely red and watery, managed to smirk now that they were out of immediate danger of being found by either adult. "I realized I only had two days left of you being my slave, and you aren't going to be wasting my time sitting there talking to Greengrass when you could be doing things for me. Urgent things."

"Like what? Folding your laundry?" Gabrielle scoffed. "Would you mind letting me go? You're hurting me..." She tried to wriggle out of the iron clutch he had around her wrist, and only succeeded in having him grab on to her arms instead.

"I want you to promise you won't go to Hogsmead this weekend. And I want you to do what I tell you."

"I-I promise." Something in his voice was urgent, and she wanted him to smile, and not smirk. To be happy. She hated to see him so desperate. "But why?"

"Just trust me. I can't tell you, and I don't want you to come looking for me if something goes wrong."

"Draco?" Gabrielle asked as she looked up at him and pushed the hair out of her eyes, trying to comfort him. "What are you saying? You shouldn't talk like that. Nothing is going to happen to you. It's Hogwarts, for goodness sakes."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Gabrielle saw someone walk by, which explained why Draco was taking his time to answer. When they had finished walking by, though, Draco's grip on her arms loosened considerably. He looked satisfied and even pleased now that he knew Gabrielle would do what he told her to. Why did this have to happen now? Gabrielle thought Astoria was one of the few nice people she had met in Slytherin, and would have liked to have at least been able to talk to her a more and find out about her. It would be nice to have a friend who wasn't a total git.

"Hogwarts isn't as safe as you think it is, Brielle." Draco said in a quiet voice, his face searching hers. "And it's getting even more dangerous with every second that passes. I can't have you running around without me when I can't be sure that you aren't going to get hurt," He was keeping something from her, and Gabrielle was getting impatient. Didn't she deserve to know what was so terrible that it was now in the most secure place in all of England and most of France?

Suddenly, she was in his arms, her cheek against his robes, her hands trapped between them both. She felt something brush her hair, and she wondered whether it were his lips. With his surprisingly strong arms around her, surely nothing could harm her. All Gabrielle could manage to do was breath in and out, and smiled faintly at Draco's nice, boyish smell that tickled her nose. Wouldn't Pansy be mad if she saw this taking place? She was sure to have it in for Gabrielle now.

"Promise me you'll meet me tonight at the Room of Requirement?" His voice seemed far away, and like that of a pleasant, strong stranger and not the prat she had known. Gabrielle was still in shock at this sudden change of heart in Draco, and all she could do was nod in response to his questions, which seemed good enough for the older boy. "I won't be able to be with you tomorrow, though. McGonagall gave me detention, which means I'll have an alibi."

"Draco, why are you telling me this?" Gabrielle managed to ask when he stopped talking. "Why me? You just barely met me, and I'll probably be fine..."

"Obviously someone has it out for your family if your parents disappeared, Brielle," Her breath caught at the mention of her parents, and she pushed herself away from him and took a few steps back in terror. How could he have known? It was her secret, and she would have taken it to the grave with her if she had to. Maybe the Weasleys had been talking about her. With a painful look as he realized he hadn't been told about her parents, Draco seemed to break.

"I promise I'll explain tonight." And he was gone as swiftly as he had appeared, leaving Gabrielle with no choice but to meet up with him to find out what was going on.


	5. The Mark

Time seemed to drag before it was time to meet Draco, Gabrielle noticed. After she had returned to class, an eternity seemed to pass in between each movement of the large hands on the clock. She thought of all the things that he could be explaining to her in the precious minutes, and it made Gabrielle furious. What if Draco had told someone that her parents were missing? Gabrielle had felt awkward walking from each of her classes, wondering if the whispers of the girls in her year were about her, whether they were going to start feeling sorry for her. Gabrielle could take the nasty remarks that she hadn't deserved but if she was going to hear people telling her how sorry they were for their loss, she was sure to be expelled from Hogwarts for hexing someone so badly they would probably end up in St. Mungos for a few months.

When her last period was finally over, Gabrielle had to do everything in her power to keep herself from running over half the student body in a mad dash to get to the dungeons to leave her things and make her way over to the Room of Requirements, where ever it may be. She kept her pace nice and slow to keep people from suspecting. The note with directions on how to get to the Room and what to think that she had been passed during lunch from Draco, who had appeared for only a short five minutes and hadn't given her time to ask him anything, was safely in her hand. _I need a place to hide something_ was written in Draco's tidy looping hand writing.

Gabrielle's face flickered with amusement at the painting of Barnabas the Barmy training to train trolls in, of all things, ballet. Barnabas wasn't doing that great of a job at the moment, as one of the trolls had just knocked the old wizard down when he attempted a clumsy _grand jete_, with his tree trunk sized legs swinging hazardously. Gabrielle giggled, and began to think of a place to hide something, walking by the bare wall opposite the less than graceful troll ballet. When Gabrielle turned around for a fourth time, a door now stood where a stone wall had been. Some things about this castle were completely illogical.

Entering slowly, Gabrielle saw the mess that was inside. Piles of ruined books lined the walls, one of them with a small silvery tiara on top; bottles littered the floor near the door, clothing from the eighties thrown over old chairs, what looked like a broken cabinet and some scary looking brown potions. Gabrielle couldn't imagine why Draco would want to meet somewhere where who knows what was hiding underneath all of the clutter in the large room. As she stepped over a few discarded adult magazines, Gabrielle found that there seemed to be no end to the room.

"Draco? Are you even in here?" Gabrielle called out, deciding to stand still before she got lost. She knew it was big, but how could she possibly not see Draco? Usually his abnormally pale hair was easy to spot, but among all the clutter she couldn't find it. "I'm gonna stay right here, and you can come and get me." Gabrielle smiled, thinking of the Muggle fairy tale one of her friends had told her back at Beauxbatons. Their situation seemed close to hers, even if she probably wasn't going to end up meeting a witch who would try to eat her. "I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs.."

"Took you long enough," Draco said with a smirk from behind Gabrielle, startling her enough to make her jump. Not waiting for her to answer, her grabbed her hand and started to lead her to a decent couch far away from the door. "You can never trust the walls in this place. Crabbe and Goyle are probably outside trying to listen. Or maybe even Pansy."

"I don't think it's that good of an idea to get that far away from the door. I might get stuck here for days, and end up dying from starvation and then I wouldn't be able to be a radio host of World Wizarding Network, you know. I'm not sure they allow dead people to work there." Gabrielle complained, but took a seat next to Draco on the puffy couch. He hadn't appeared to be listening to her, and she was glad. She probably sounded really stupid.

"Listen, Brielle, you can't tell anyone about what I am going to show and tell you." He paused, and Gabrielle nodded. "Some people know, but they don't really understand it. They think it's so great, so wonderful. When I told Pansy, she was so proud of me, and started bragging. She liked it. I did too, in the beginning. But the more time passes, I realize what it really means. It's more of a curse than anything. There's the constant worry that someone is going to find out, for starters. The only good thing about it was, I guess, was that it made me realize how fake everyone I had surrounded myself with were, and slowly I started to push them away." Draco had started rolling up his sleeve, and when he reached his he paused to look at Gabrielle with a pleading glance. "Don't freak out." He sighed and continued rolling up the sleeve, reveling a Dark Mark.

Gabrielle's eyes were wide. Where had this come from? He had nearly undressed himself in front of her the other day. Maybe he had forgotten about it, but it seemed like something that would always been on anyone's mind. "Since when have you had it?" Gabrielle asked in a small voice, having trouble tearing her eyes away from the sinister tattoo.

"Beginning of summer. Given to me by the Dark Lord himself." Draco said in somber voice, before deciding to make a joke out of it. "You can touch it if you want. It hasn't glowed in a few days, though I imagine it will tomorrow. I wanted you to come here because tomorrow Hogsmead isn't going to be safe because tomorrow I have to do something for the Dark Lord, and what's planned can easily backfire and end up hurting you. Hey, do you want to touch it?" He smirked as Gabrielle traced the outline of the skull lightly with her finger tips, afraid to press down on it too much. When she dropped her hand, Draco rolled down his sleeve carefully, realizing he couldn't put off the nastiness anymore. "Another thing that I have to tell you is, that because of _this_," Draco spat out the word, frowning and continued his sentence reluctantly. "I knew about your parents. Brielle, I didn't want to be the one to tell you this but... you aren't going to see your parents again."

Gabrielle's eyes became bigger and her face crumpled before she burst in to tears. She had given up hope awhile back ago, but it was just too horrible to hear her worst fear confirmed. Her parents were dead. Her mother who had been a bit obsesive compulsive about cleaning and maintaining the house she had lived in her whole life and her father who had smelt of tabbaco, always was laughing and hosting parties, were gone. Gabrielle was now officially an orphan. Draco pulled her close, wiping away her tears with his thumb.

"Shh, shh. It's gonna be alright, it'll all be alright. I'm here."

"I'm all alone. I'm all alone." Gabrielle cried in to his chest. Fleur wasn't herself anymore, Gabrielle had alienated herself from her in-laws, and she didn't know anyone in England. Nobody had tried to contact her from Beauxbatons either, not even her so called best friend. Her tears had changed from sorrow to anger. Why did her life have to end so abruptly? It was unfair. Fifteen year olds were not supposed to deal with these kinds of things. She just wanted to be normal, and to have had a chance to tell her parents how much she loved them and to say goodbye.

"Not anymore,." He said, stroking her arm. "You have me, Bri. You'll never be alone again. We can be alone together,"

"...I'm glad I met you, Draco." Gabrielle said once she had stopped crying. Smiling, she looked up at the boy, who instead of smirking like usual, had a geniune grin on his face. He brushed the bangs out of her face gently, and before she knew it, Draco Malfoy was kissing her.

**Author's note: Well, not my favorite chapter... I kind of had to squeeze a lot of stuff in to this one. But let me just say, thank you all for your encoraging words! They really mean a lot to me, and they definently help me write faster. : Next one will be up soon.**


	6. Author's Note

**Authors note:**

Ag. I promised myself I would try and get a chapter done these next few weeks, but it doesn't look like it's gonna happen. I have a friend that I need to take in for awhile, a few projects due in class, science fairs, ice skating, and on top of that I'm not sure whether I should stick to the story line or completely change it from here on out.

I would love to hear all of your opinions! Should I follow HBP for awhile? Or add some drama?

I'm thinking drama...

I promise to have a new chapter up as soon as I possibly can. I already have 300 words written. :)

Love y'all!


	7. The Future

Gabrielle had dreamed of that day again. The day when her life had turned even more upside down that it had been previously.

The day Draco disappeared, and Hogwarts went to hell in a basket.

"It's been ten years," Gabrielle muttered to herself, as she rolled out of her large bed on to the cold wooden floor. "Why am I still thinking about it?" She walked over to the large windows, and pulled open the red velvet drapery to let light and sound in to her quiet house. Resting her forehead on the cold pane, she tried to gather her rushing thoughts about the reoccurring nightmare.

"Mistress!" The tiny House Elf voice called throught the house. "Mistress! Minou made breakfast for you! Minou'll bring it up for you!"

Sighing, she turned, and hopped back in to bed. Minou was an adequate House Elf, and she had no complaints about how the house was taken care of, but sometimes Minou got it in to her head that instead of Gabrielle being a successful author hailed by the Daily Prophet as the new Gilderoy Lockheart without the nasty memory loss of the Romance genre, and believed that she was still the scared sixteen year old who had returned to Bill and Fleur's apartment directly after the incident for a few days, heartbroken and confused.

Gabrielle lounged on the bed, looking around her richly furnished room. Pictures of her and various famous friends littered the tops of dressers, along with a few from her years at Beauxbatons and Hogwarts. One of her favorites was the picture of Astoria and her, giggling and laughing behind the Potion Master's back during their seventh year. The dark wood bookcase that contained volumes upon volumes of classic texts- Muggle and Wizard alike- also contained her own novels. The golden titles glistened in the light given by the window, causing her to look away. The titles were such a painful and embarrassing affair, and she always flinched when she saw them in others houses. What kind of idiot would name their book "Seductive Spells in Summer"? It sounded like a third year had pulled pulled random words out of the dictionary, so long as they started with the letter S.

"Minou made pancakes, Mistress. Minou thought you mentioned them last night," The House Elf entered, pushing the oak door out of her way with a kick, and carried a silver tray laden with the aforementioned cakes, a large container of syrup and a glass of orange juice, accompanied by the Daily Prophet and a carefully chosen piece of fan mail to lift Gabrielle's spirits. As she placed the tray on the bed for Gabrielle to eat off, her sharp, cat-like eyes scrutinized her Mistress in a way that made Gabrielle uneasy. "Did Mistress's dream of Malfoy brat again?"

"He wasn't a brat, Minou. He was a boy who just got caught up in something bigger than him," Gabrielle blinked rapidly to stop tears, cutting her pancakes with extreme force. "And then he broke a promise, and he left me. Let's just... not talk about him, alright? He obviously didn't think I was even important enough to contact, otherwise I wouldn't be here crying about nothing."

"Minou is sorry, Mistress. Minou didn't mean to upset you," Minou petted Gabrielle's hair in what Gabrielle expected was a motherly fashion, causing Gabrielle's heart to break more. "Miss Greengrass and Miss Parkingson are coming by soon, Mistress. If Miss cries, Mistress will get piggy eyes, and she won't look nice for her friends."

Gabrielle nodded, and wiped her eyes with her bed sheets. "Right. I'll get ready now then." Minou opened her mouth to protest how little she had eaten of her pancakes, but Gabrielle cut her off. "I'm not very hungry anymore. Could you make some tea and sandwiches for us for when they get here? And tidy up the house a bit, too." Gabrielle handed the tray back to the small elf, and went to her closet to get dressed in private.

Emerging in dark blue robes, Gabrielle sat down in front of her small vanity to brush her blonde hair. As she dragged the boar hair brush through her tresses, and watched herself in the mirror, flashes of that fateful day danced before her no matter how hard she tried to forget it.

_Chaos reigned when she finally stumbled out of the Room of Requirements. Gabrielle had waited for hours, all while she could hear screams of panic, until Gabrielle couldn't take the waiting anymore. It was quiet, strangely so. She wandered around the still unfamiliar castle, trying to find her way back to the Slytherin Common Room._

_As she turned a corner, she finally saw someone: Pansy Parkingson, crying in a corner. Approaching her cautiously, Gabrielle examined the girl from afar until Pansy looked up. It was then that she noticed the wild look in the girl's eyes. "I saw him. He left with them." She took a gulp of air, and Gabrielle bent down to be near her. Even though they had started off so badly, Gabrielle couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. Pansy probably didn't even know what she was talking about._

_"Why would Draco do this?" Pansy sobbed in to Gabrielle's shoulder. "Why?"_

_Gabrielle suddenly felt very empty._


End file.
